WELCOME


Trevor Garcia IDSc National Chairman


I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for attending the 2025 IDSc conference. I know how challenging it can be to get time away from the day job and the financial pressures that you are all under to get the funding for attendance. However, as we move through our journey to professional recognition and registration, we will all be required to provide evidence of continuous professional development to ensure we keep up with the current challenges, solutions and innovations that are being faced within our industry. I would like to thank our industry colleagues for their support, and all those that have agreed to present their evidence and thoughts, as without them we would not be able to put on such an event. I welcome industry to attend the plenary sessions as their viewpoint and comments are welcome and we can learn from each other to develop and provide the services and safety standards that patients expect. I would also like to thank the IDSc conference committee,


Research, Communication and Successful Events, for all the work involved in developing the content of the conference and the facilities.


I hope you will find the plenary sessions informative and I hope


you will use the opportunity to ask the questions that you may not have a chance to in your everyday role. The more interactive we can make the sessions the more we all can learn. The conference will start on Tuesday with a new approach


to the existing classification systems titled ‘A proposed cleaning classification system for reusable medical devices to complement the Spaulding classification’ by Dr. Gerald McDonnell and followed by one of the areas that give us all challenges in our roles “What’s Behind the IFU: validations and critical observations needed” presented by Stuart White who can provide a view from all elements of the IFU challenge. The next session, by Jack Walters, will have him ‘Presenting the


findings of an independent systematic review of published scientific literature and adverse event databases’ on surgical implants, followed by the ‘Long-term analysis of repeated processing of plates and screws’, presented by Dr. Gerald McDonell. This is an area that has been discussed many times and different national approaches have been implemented. This is an issue that I encounter and the risks/ benefits will be reviewed. As a patient, should we expect the same standards throughout the UK? Tuesday afternoon will be the Great Debate which


will look at loan set management and challenges from the User, Supplier and Reprocessor. This session will be led by Prof Tony Young and Sharon Fox, so we will expect some interesting debate. This session will be followed by a presentation by Professor Shahin Rahimifard, who will describe the work at Loughborough University that is being undertaken in relation to the sustainability and the circular economy of medical devices. This subject will become more influential as we move forward to meet targets already set. There will be the IDSc AGM at 9am on Wednesday


morning to start the day, followed by our very own Director of Communication Rob Warburton who will be presenting on the work being undertaken in relation to the build up of biofilms in flexible endoscopes and whether existing sampling and testing methods are adequate. This will be followed by our IDSc Director of Education Helen Campbell who will be providing an update on education. Finally, but by no means least, please do all stay to listen


to this session as it will be worthwhile. Gary Clarke will be presenting on ‘KPIs – standards within the industry and evidence on benchmarking. We all set our own KPIs, but should we be looking to compare our performance against a national standard. This is already in place with other Healthcare science services. We will be required to produce a decontamination strategy in the near future, so do we need evidence-based data now to develop what is needed or what we think we need. With new innovations, we have new challenges and our


last speaker is Dr. Andrew Sibley, who will look at ‘How do we conduct real-world evaluations of new technologies and innovations within healthcare?’ I am concerned that innovation must not be stifled by guidance and standards and there needs to be a way forward that they can always work together ensuring patient safety is the priority. We will be starting the process of arranging the 2025


conference in January, so please speak to any of the Directors and let them know of any subjects that you would like covered. I hope you have an enjoyable time. Please come and speak


to me and the other directors and I hope we will all go back to our day jobs with new knowledge and understanding that you can put into practice.


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